Optimize Your Landing Pages, Increase Your Sales by:Paul Marshall
One of the newest and most talked about Internet marketing strategies these days is Landing Page Optimization
. Your Landing Page Design can make or break your conversion rate.
All the search engine optimization (SEO) Internet marketing and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising isn't going to create the sales you want with bad landing pages. You'd be just wasting your time and money.
And the truth is that EVERY page on your website is a landing page, except for your Privacy Policy, Terms of Use or Service, and possibly your About page.
I've seen websites more than DOUBLE their conversions with landing pages that are properly designed to convert traffic to conversions...those opt-in sign ups and direct sales.
Think about it -- doubling your sales without increasing your PPC advertising or without increasing your SEO efforts! How much money could that put in your pocket?
When you take advantage of strategies like that, that's when you start beating out your competition.
What's Landing Page Optimization All About?
When searchers come to our websites from the search engines, they are in a path from one website to another. We have to interrupt that process, drawing these searchers into our website and into our story. We must balance the connection with our visitors and make an emotional connection, while offering them real substance, as well.
We MUST answer these questions:
1. where am I?
2. what can I do here (what is your offer)?
3. Why should I look here and STAY rather than click away? This MUST be answered in the top 4 to 4/12 inches of your Web pages (above the fold)
How Do You Begin Optimizing Your Landing Page Design?
First, start by clearly explaining what you want your website visitors to do and WHY they should do it. Why should they buy from you or opt-in for future contact? What's in it for them? Why should they choose you over other websites they can visit? What separates you from your competition?
Essentially, what's your Value Proposition?
You should be able to clearly explain the advantage to your website visitors in 2 to 3 short sentences.
Right now, if you're not sure exactly how to describe your Value Proposition, you're surely NOT alone! The great majority of people I coach with their websites are in the same boat, when they start out.
My suggestion: Start brainstorming and making good notes. It also helps to have the input of a Internet marketing consulting coach outside your business, who can help you clearly define and explain what you offer your website visitors in a compelling manner, without using your industry jargon and lingo.
Reduce Anxiety from Your Purchase and Opt-in Processes
Anxiety can also be defined as fear or concern. Now, you can never have a anxiety-free website, if you sell a product or service or if you seek an opt-in email address.
Anxiety occurs in opt-in sign up processes, when providing an email address. When making a purchase, providing credit card information causes anxiety.
But how can you REDUCE the anxiety to the least level possible?
There are many techniques you can follow to accomplish this.
One of the best examples is to post your Privacy Policy page link right next to your sign up button, for your opt-in contact. This helps reassure your visitors you aren't selling their email address and will generate a higher opt-in conversion rate than not posting your privacy policy, all other things equal.
Other anxiety reducing techniques are to emphasize credit card security when ordering, offer pricing guarantees and deal with product - service quality concerns with guarantees and third-party certifications, awards, etc. These techniques must be used at the exact point where the anxiety occurs.
Next, Reducing Friction from Your Web Pages
Friction can also be defined as annoyance and irritation. To maximize your sales and opt-in conversion rate, you need to minimize the friction all across your website.
Friction occurs in the prospect's MIND, not really on the page.
It is a Psychological resistance to a given element in the sales process.
So, how can you reduce friction?
One way is to limit fields to the minimum number needed for both purchase and opt-in forms. Friction = Length and Difficulty.
While space here limits a complete discussion of all the techniques you can take advantage of, another way to limit friction is to make your landing page design take advantage of natural eye movement, working with it, rather than against it. You've got to be careful with multi-column designs.
Wrapping it Up
Consider the value to you of an Internet marketing consulting coach, who can help maximize your landing page design at an affordable cost.
Using Landing Page Optimization techniques will help you potentially DOUBLE your conversions...your direct sales and opt-in sign ups...without increasing your PPC advertising expenses and without requiring higher SEO rankings.
This is real money we're talking about. :-)
And there are even coaches out there who can train you to do the work yourself, without you having to pay full-service prices (and without you having to spend the money or the time to become fully trained and certified in Landing Page Optimization).
This could turn out to be the KEY element missing from your Internet marketing plan.
About the author
Marketing online since 2004, Paul Marshall can help you market on a budget. He offers affordable Landing Page Optimization (LPO) services and d-i-y LPO Coaching. Receive your Free Introductory Consultation, just visit:
http://strategicwebmarketing.net/lpo.html today!
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